Retail Therapy - Watz dis?

Weekends are considered to be the days for getting friends in touch. I was talking to one of my friend. She was telling that she feels lonely and depressed sometimes and to kill that she has found herself indulged into a hobby which is girls 'cup of tea'...mm..I meant the shopping spree...:) In connection with that, she introduced me to this new term called 'Retail Therapy'.

When the going gets tough, then go shopping. This is the motto of retail therapy. When shopping becomes an addiction in a positive note, then it is retail therapy.

Retail therapy is shopping with the primary purpose of improving the buyer's mood or disposition. (1) Often seen in people during periods of depression or transition, it is normally a short-lived habit. Items purchased during periods of retail therapy are sometimes referred to as "comfort buys."

Retail therapy need not be a negative term. It can be a neutral term that describes the pleasures of the total shopping experience, used by many people to boost their mood. Shopping as a way of boosting one's mood does not necessarily involve rash or inadvisable purchases. Retailers may view the entertainment aspect of their stores as a means of boosting store traffic, so that some of those customers make purchases, but not necessarily inappropriate or inadvisable ones.

Retail addiction or shopping addiction should be considered a separate and serious problem. The term "therapy" by definition implies a treatment for a problem (here, depression or stress), not a problem itself. Retail therapy may be the WRONG treatment in many cases, but it is not, by definition, dangerous or problematic.